Ideal Power,a pioneer of the development and commercialization of highly efficient and broadly patented B-TRAN™ bidirectional power switches, has released a whitepaper, “B-TRAN™ Devices in Solid-State Circuit Breaker Applications”.
The whitepaper describes how Ideal Power’s patented, proprietary, semiconductor power switch architecture, the Bidirectional Bipolar Junction Transistor (B-TRAN™), solves the limitations of both mechanical circuit breakers now in widespread use, as well as those of solid-state circuit breaker (SSCB) solutions using power semiconductors such as the Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT).
The fast switching and low conduction losses of the B-TRAN™, along with its inherent bidirectional capability, potentially lay a path to broad SSCB adoption to support both existing and emerging applications in the global circuit breaker market, which is projected to reach nearly $26 billion by 2027, growing at a forecasted compound annual growth rate of 6.6%.
A B-TRAN™ enabled SSCB could potentially displace mechanical circuit breakers, which are roughly ten times slower than SSCBs (operating in milliseconds instead of microseconds) and prone to arcing and wear. Ideal Power believes that B-TRAN™ would also solve the problems posed by SSCBs using conventional switches such as IGBTs that suffer high conduction losses, resulting in significant wasted energy that must be dissipated in the form of heat. Along with energy savings, the inherent bidirectionality and lower conduction losses of B-TRAN™ should also reduce component count and thermal management requirements and, therefore, the cost of SSCBs.
As validation of the performance breakthrough of B-TRAN™ for circuit breaker applications, Diversified Technologies, Inc. (DTI), in collaboration with Ideal Power, was awarded a contract with the U.S. Navy/Naval Sea Systems Command to develop a B-TRAN™ based solid-state direct current (DC) circuit breaker rated at 12 kV, 500 A (6 MW) for mission-critical technology in the Navy’s ship electrification program.
Further funding has also been received from the U.S. Department of Energy for Phase I of a program for an alternating current (AC) version of a B-TRAN™ based SSCB. This SSCB is intended to be used in medium voltage power distribution and renewable energy / microgrid connection to the United States’ main power grid. If Phase I is successful and a Phase II grant is awarded, DTI will build and test a full 50 MW AC SSCB using Ideal Power B-TRAN™ devices.
Ideal Power also recently announced that a Forbes 2021 Global 500 diverse power management market leader will be testing and evaluating B-TRAN™ for use in bidirectional DC SSCB applications for solar and wind systems. B-TRAN™ will be evaluated against insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) and silicon carbide power devices. This represents Ideal Power’s first test and evaluation announcement in the industrial and utility SSCB space.
The whitepaper may be found on Ideal Power’s website at: https://www.idealpower.com/technology/.
